France coach Fabien Galthié is running out of playmaking options ahead of the November internationals.

He’s named a 42-man squad for the Tests, but injuries and absences have forced several changes to his plans ahead of next month’s blockbuster against the Springboks in Paris.

Toulouse fullback Thomas Ramos has been left out of the initial group due to personal reasons, though the 30-year-old is expected to rejoin the national setup later in the campaign. His uncapped clubmate, Kalvin Gourgues, is among 10 players in line for a potential Test debut.

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Les Bleus face world champions South Africa, Fiji and Australia during a demanding three-week stretch, but Galthié will be without several frontline stars, including Antoine Dupont, Peato Mauvaka, Uini Atonio, Francois Cros, Charles Ollivon, Baptiste Couilloud, Yoram Moefana, Théo Attissogbe and Gabin Villière.

Scrumhalf Maxime Lucu, who recently returned from a thumb injury, has been named despite missing the start of the season. His availability – along with that of Ramos – for the Springboks Test on 8 November at the Stade de France, remains uncertain.

France squad
Forwards – Dorian Aldegheri, Grégory Alldritt, Hugo Auradou, Benjamin Bertrand, Paul Boudehent, Esteban Capilla, Guillaume Cramont, Baptiste Erdocio, Alexandre Fischer, Thibaud Flament, Jean-Baptiste Gros, Mickaël Guillard, Oscar Jégou, Anthony Jelonch, Thomas Laclayat, Julien Marchand, Barnabé Massa, Jimi Maximin, Emmanuel Meafou, Régis Montagne, Lenni Nouchi, Emerick Setiano, Romain Taofifénua, Cameron Woki.
Backs – Pierre-Louis Barassi, Léo Barré, Louis Bielle-Biarrey, Fabien Brau-Boirie, Nicolas Depoortere, Gaël Dréan, Gaël Fickou, Émilien Gailleton, Kalvin Gourgues, Aaron Grandidier Nkanang, Matthieu Jalibert, Baptiste Jauneau, Nolann Le Garrec, Maxime Lucu, Romain Ntamack, Damian Penaud, Joris Segonds, Cheick Tiberghien.

Photo: Jean Catuffe/Getty Images